Tibeto-Bhutanese Relations and the Treaty of Punakha: the Case of the Enclave of Darchen

The Treaty of Punakha of 1910 defined the relations between Bhutan and the British Empire shortly after the accession to the throne of Ugyen Wangchuck (1862−1926) and the birth of the Kingdom (1907). The agreement recognised the full internal autonomy of the Himalayan kingdom, while foreign policy remained subject to British guidance. Between late 1912 and 1914, the dispute over a salt tax levied by the Tibetan government on Bhutanese subjects in the enclave of Darchen (Dar chen) offers an interesting case for a clearer understanding of the Anglo-Bhutanese and Tibeto-Bhutanese relations in the years immediately following the Treaty and the fall of the Qing dynasty (1912). This paper reconstructs this episode, highlighting a substantial contradiction between Ugyen Wangchuck’s formal recognition of British suzerainty and his despatch of a document to the authorities in Lhasa.